Cost Of Living In Falls Church, VA

Falls Church cost of living index

In the event that the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used. Each cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. If the amount is below 100, it is lower than the national average. If the amount is above 100, it is higher than the national average.
Index	Falls Church	Virginia	National
Cost of living index	173	109	100
Index	Falls Church	Virginia	National
Goods & Services index	117	100	100
Groceries index	115	95	100
Health care index	98	101	100
Housing index	320	133	100
Transportation index	108	93	100
Utilities index	90	100	100

A general summary of the cost of living index in Falls Church, VA is shown above. Compared to the state average of Virginia the cost of living index in Falls Church, VA is 173, which is 59% higher than the average in Virginia and compared to the national average it is 73% higher than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In Falls Church, VA goods and services come in at 17% higher than the average in Virginia and are 17% higher than compared to the nationwide average.

Did you know?

The cost of living in Falls Church is 59% higher than the Virginia average.
The cost of living in Falls Church is 73% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing in Falls Church is 220% higher than the national average.
Virginia general sales tax is 4% higher than the national average.
Virginia state income tax is 10% lower than the national average.

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Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Use the salary calculator to compare your current income in Falls Church, VA to any other city in the country. The calculator will tell you how much income you would need to make in a particular city to live at the same level based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to move to is higher than that of Falls Church, VA, then you would need to earn a higher salary in order to enjoy the same standard of living. To use the Falls Church, VA salary calculator, enter the name of the new city, then move the slider to your current salary level. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if your salary would need to increase or decrease for the new city. You will also see a complete overview of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$173,393	$14,449	$4,046	$5,202
Renters	$72,015	$6,001	$1,680	$2,161

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Falls Church, VA as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Falls Church, VA homeowners, is $173,393. This would allow for a maximum of $4,046 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $72,015 which would result in a maximum of $1,680 to be spent on rental costs.

Virginia Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Virginia	5.3%	6%

Virginia Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Virginia	2%	5.75%

The Virginia sales tax and Virginia income tax rates should definitely be considered when determining the overall cost of living in Falls Church, VA. Sales taxes are taxes that are imposed onto goods and services sold. Sales taxes do vary by state and can range from no tax at all to upwards of 7%. The Virginia sales tax is 5.3% and the maximum surtax is 6%. Income tax is the tax imposed on income by the government. The income tax rates will vary by state and will also increase or decrease depending on the corresponding tax bracket. State income tax rates can range from anywhere from no tax at all to more than 9%. The Virginia income tax rates range from 2% to 5.75%.

Goods & Services

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$20.83	$15.56	33.8%
Beauty Salon	$58.39	$36.11	61.7%
Toothpaste	$2.89	$2.47	16.9%
Shampoo	$0.88	$0.96	8.5%
Movie	$12.00	$10.13	18.5%
Bowling	$5.45	$4.74	15.1%

Groceries

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.72	$3.98	6.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.79	$1.41	27.2%
Milk	$2.35	$2.06	13.7%
Potatoes	$3.81	$2.98	27.9%
Pizza	$9.79	$9.47	3.3%
Beer	$9.99	$8.79	13.6%

Health Care

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$74.83	$101.04	25.9%
Doctor	$96.39	$107.44	10.3%
Dentist	$93.78	$90.42	3.7%
Ibuprofen	$8.92	$9.28	3.8%
Lipitor	$443.00	$426.50	3.9%

Housing

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$665,400.00	$175,700.00	278.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,698.56	$1,133.23	138.1%
Apartment Rent	$1,673.00	$920.00	81.8%

Transportation

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.20	$1.99	10.6%
Tire Balancing	$46.05	$45.76	0.6%

Utilities

Item	Falls Church	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$141.47	$163.81	13.6%
Phone	$27.32	$28.39	3.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Woodlawn, VA	2,082	94	-6%
Cottage City, MD	1,070	108	8%
Belle Haven, VA	376	103	3%
Capitol Heights, MD	4,452	114	14%
Silver Hill, MD	5,335	114	14%
Falls Church, VA	13,074	173	73%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
West Monroe, LA	13,073	88	-12%
Sauk Rapids, MN	13,079	95	-5%
Western Springs, IL	13,066	153	53%
Hidalgo, TX	13,063	73	-27%
West Carrollton, OH	13,087	92	-8%
Falls Church, VA	13,074	173	73%

Source: The Falls Church, VA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Falls Church, VA Cost of Living